- Myelodysplastic syndromes: the diagnosis of MDS must be confirmed by a bone marrow aspirate and/or biopsy within two weeks prior to registration; NOTE: blast count must be < 20%; patients with any International Prognostic Score (IPSS) are eligible; patients with low or intermediate (INT)-1 IPSS must have a platelet count < 50,000/mm^3 and/or absolute neutrophil count (ANC) < 500/mm^3 within seven days prior to registration